When Life Hands You Lemons

For me, one of the biggest adjustments in becoming a mother is trying  to let go of being self-centered.  I'm not a selfish person, but for pretty much my whole life, in a way that I think most slightly insecure, mildly introverted, obsessively introspective people can be, I was (still am in many ways / instances) self-centered and maybe even a tad bit self-absorbed.  I still sometimes choose having a late lunch with friends over getting Price home in time to take a good nap.  There are days when I leave Price chirping happily in his crib in the afternoon so I can finish updating my blog.  I even am guilty of turning on the tv and letting Price watch Sesame Street (or the entire afternoon programming block on PBS) so I can spend some quality time with my kitchen.  Basically, I put myself first in ways that maybe aren't always the best for P Man.  I don't think I'm a bad mom, I just sometimes put my selfish needs over his- who knows, maybe this is healthy??

I think our month of being crazy busy with missed naps, late lunches, new foods, late nights, early mornings and lots of time spent in the water has finally caught up with us.  My little man has come down with a random fever.  Maybe it's his teeth, maybe it's some weird Guam virus, but whatever it is the little guy is sick.  It happens so often, like seriously once a month, that I don't really worry about it.  I just feel bad for him that he doesn't feel well.  And then when I get an invitation to spend some fun time with friends in the making and knew I'd have to turn it down because I have a sick kiddo, I feel bad for me.  I know, poor me....  And even though there were some temptations to bring my feverish little man with me (we can all use some fresh air right?), I knew that I had to put him first and stay home and let the stupid fever run its course.

So as my mood began to match the rather grey day we were having, I looked over and spotted a bowl of bright, yellow lemons.  My mood instantly brightened and my mouth began to water at the thought of the tanginess they could bring to my life.  I immediately wanted lemon bars.  I haven't had lemon bars in ages, they remind me of my Mom Mom who always made them.  So, I found an easy recipe by Ms. Paula Deen herself and away I went.  

Apparently, this lemon was super tangy.  Enough to trigger a 5.4 magnitude earthquake.  That I somehow failed to feel.  So, after a brief interlude of texts, phone calls and Facebook updates to discuss said earthquake, I continued on and finished my lemon bars.  I think I over cooked them a tad and will add more lemon zest, less sugar next time, but they turned out pretty delicious.  Almost like a one-sided lemon Pop-Tart.

Since I was feeling the lemony sunshine pour back into my soul, I decided that dessert was not enough and I HAD TO MAKE the Pioneer Woman's Baked Lemon Pasta.  It tasted great, but I didn't have parsley to make it look pretty, so I'll leave you with this image instead....

Sunset is often a magically pink time our little island.  This was the view from my back porch last night as I was finishing up my lemon creations.  Everything turns pink, I haven't been able to capture it yet, but it is one of my favorite things about living here.  And it's God's way of reminding me that there is always something special in a day, even if it isn't going to a party.